Adam, Author at The Open College of the Arts

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Adam

The chill voice of Russia

Posted: 31/01/18 09:28 | 0 Comments

My love-affair with Soviet cinema was cemented at film school when, literally frame by frame, we dissected Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 propaganda masterpiece Battleship Potemkin. Back in the late sixties and early seventies as British cinemas fell into decline one or two flee-pits survived in some small towns, included mine, Reigate. It was there I first saw Andrei Tarkovsky, starting with his 1966 classic, Andrei Rublev, showing to an empty theatre. At film school I spent seven hours watching – and dozing – through Sergey Bondarchuk’s epic War and Peace and of course, plenty of Tarkovsky.

Is cinema saying something this year?

Film popular culture

Posted: 02/01/18 09:17 | 0 Comments

Maybe it’s a dumb question. Cinema always has something to say whether or not it is worth saying. Yet, over the last few months I have been becoming ever more reassured that there are a remarkable number of new films that really have something to say about the time we live in.

Bums on seats. A moving story.

Film popular culture

Posted: 14/12/17 09:39 | 0 Comments

Ever the optimist, for me there is no substitute to the cinematic experience, I think news of the end of cinema is premature. The latest merger of two giant chains should be seen as sign of optimism that maybe the cinema experience will continue to get better and we will continue to spend more time in a darkened room amongst strangers.

Today's British cinema and history

cinema Film popular culture

Posted: 04/12/17 09:18 | 0 Comments

The rest of the world may love our costume dramas and imagine that England still thinks it rules the waves – about that delusion I think they are right – yet I am filled with gloom that cinema continues to churn out this stuff.

The power of independence

Film popular culture

Posted: 13/11/17 09:09 | 0 Comments

Her genius is that she sucks you into the narrative. It’s an over-indulgence of cinematic culture that I cannot have too much of. Following The Party, there is a royal flush of quality independent cinema to look forward to in the next week or two.

Hollywood under the cosh

Film fine art

Posted: 02/11/17 09:59 | 1 Comments

His observation that it is now the domain of streamed multi-episodic drama where character development reigns supreme is compelling. In his view the decline of modern Hollywood is driven by risk-aversion, but this demise is actually something that has been going on for a very long time.

British cinema

Film

Posted: 18/10/17 09:13 | 2 Comments

Recently I read a very good article in the FT by Jason Solomons which starts by asking the question, ‘When was the last new movement in British Cinema… heralding a flurry of new directors and new styles?’

The good, the bad and the unspeakably awful

Film popular culture

Posted: 26/09/17 09:56 | 0 Comments

The debate about public opinion trumping critical analysis and what that means for popular culture will continue so long as there are films to watch and audiences to see them. But I say three cheers to all those who laugh at the emperor’s new clothing, leaving bad films to perform badly, losing their investors lots of money for letting self-indulgent, so-called talent loose on a film set.

What is it about lists?

Film moving image popular culture

Posted: 18/09/17 09:14 | 1 Comments

I have to admit that I cannot find fault with the top ten comedies of all time as selected by all those critics. I’d probably put most if not all of them into my most loved comedies. Would you?

The debate continues…why?

Film moving image

Posted: 21/08/17 09:58 | 6 Comments

It’s not that I am bored by the seemingly continuous debate about the demise or even death of celluloid, just rather irritated. Recently I was alerted to a Twitter whinge that no one liked using film anymore to take photographs – that is as a medium for stills photography. My observations lead me to a […]

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Explore #WeAreOCA

Browsing Category:

Adam

The chill voice of Russia

Is cinema saying something this year?

Bums on seats. A moving story.

Today's British cinema and history

The power of independence

Hollywood under the cosh

British cinema

The good, the bad and the unspeakably awful

What is it about lists?

The debate continues…why?